CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury addressed the students protesting the arrest of JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on February 13.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury addressed the students protesting the arrest of JNU Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi on February 13. (Vipin Kumar / HT Photo)

After being slapped with sedition charges, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury on Monday said he is in “great company” of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi.

“I am in great company... Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi, Lokmanya Tilak... all national stalwarts were charged under this clause,” Yechury said.

On Sunday, a FIR charging Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Yechury, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and others with sedition was registered at a police station in Hyderabad.

The CPI(M) leader also said that he has been getting a series of SMSes and calls threatening him.

“The messages are coming from all over India, from Delhi, Andhra... Delhi Police has filed two FIRs but nothing has happened so far,” Yechury said.

“They are continuously sending SMSes... probably this is the kind of employment this government wants to generate,” he said.

Yechury came under attack for supporting Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who has been arrested on charges of sedition for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during an event to mark Afzal Guru’s hanging.

Following the arrest of Kumar, nationwide protests took place as many political leaders including Kejriwal, Rahul Gandhi and Yechury visited the JNU campus to extend their support.